Mixing, inspection, and casing machine for bottled goods



c. w. GIBBS 2,236,945

AND CASING MACHINE FOR BOTTLED GOODS Filed July 18, 1938 April 1, 1941.

MIXING, INSPECTION,

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENTOR.

fair/.5144 67535.

r QLU ATTORNEYS,

April 1, c w 15 5 MIXING, INSPECTION, AND CASING MACHINE FOR BOTTLED GOODS Filed July 18, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 66 MINVENTOR.

Cu r/s 14 6/535.

"M awk/f viir ATTORNEY-3.

Aprifi 1, 194-1. Q w @1535 2236.945

MIXING, INSPECTION, AND CASING MACHINE FOR BOTTLED GOODS PI Q- H Filed July 18, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 79 a a o o 5 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY?- Patented Apr. 1, 1941 MIXING, INSPECTION, AND CASING MACHINE FOR BOTTLED GOODS Curtis W. Gibbs, Forth Worth, Tex, asaignor, by

direct and mesne to Bottlers milmnen Equipment Company, Forth Worth, 'I'ex., a corporation Application July 1a, 1938, Serial No. 219,759

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a mixing, inspection and casing machine for bottling goods. While th machine is primarily designed to perform these three functions, certain features thereof are equally applicable to machinw in which one or more of these functions are omitted. Other features are applicable to machines for casing or packaging other than bottled goods.

One object of the invention is to reduce labor costs by combining the three functions and especially the inspection and casing operations in one machine which requires but one operator.

Another object of the invention is to provide a casing machine in which no accumulating table is required. The goods, instead of being assem-' bled on such a table for hand packing orv for the assembly of a unit the size of a case, is assembled in single rows and each row is deposited in the case individually.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine in which bottles .of different diameters may be cased without adjustment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine in which the bottles are positioned with their axes inclined downwardly toward the neck end during inspection. The placing of the bottles in this position is done immediately prior to inspect-ion so that foreign matter floating therein may be seen moving from the neck end to the base end of the bottle and is, therefore, more readily visible to the operator. At the same time, the base end of the bottle is left clear so that foreign matter stuck to the bottom thereof may easily be seen by the inspector.

Another object of the invention is to provide means by which a plurality of bottles may be placed in inspection position at one time, thus eliminating the necessity .of extremely rapid passage past an inspection position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mixing operation in the same machine which does the casing and in which the inspection is done. The mixing operation is performed by tilting the bottles into the inspection position and then restoring them to an upright position when they are placed in the case. This operation gives suflicient mixing for certain types of soft drinks. For bottled goods which require a more thorough mixing on a separate machine the amount of the separate mixing and the time required are greatly reduced when the present machine is used for a preliminary mixing operation.

Other objects and features of th invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the machine as a whole. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar view taken on [the line 3--3 of Fig. 1. is a plan view of a portion of the top of the machine. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 2. F g. 6 is a central sectional view in elevation with parts omitted. Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 4. Fig. 8 is a. sectional view taken on theline 88 of Fig. 4. Fig. 9

is an elevational view of a receiver used at the inspection station with one bottle in position thereon. Fig. 10 is a detailed view in elevation of certain parts of the mechanism used for placing bottles in the cases. Fig. 11 in a perspective view of one of the elements shown in Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is an elevational view with in section of a counting mechanism used for controlling .the supply of bottles to the machine. Fig. 1 3 is a plan view of a portion of a conveyor used for delivering bottles to the machine and illustinting theposition of an electrical control element used therewith. Fig. 14 is a detailed view in plan of a safety switch used for automatically stopping the machine in an emergency. Fig. 15 is an elevational view of a. cam operated switch which may be used for controlling illumination of the bottles during inspection. Fig. 16 is a diagram of wiring connections.

In the preferred form of the invention shown in the drawings, the filled bottles are received from the bottling machine onan endless conveyor of the platform chain type in a. continuous stream and in an upright position. The cases to be filled are delivered to the machine by a suitable conveyor and are shown herein as the usual partitioned eases having twenty-four bottie-holding cells arranged in four rows of six cells each. The bottles are counted by a counting and stream controlling device as they arrive at the machine and the flow of the stream of bottles is automatically stopped thereby each time enough bottles have been received to fill one row in a case. The counted bottles are delivered to a pivotally mounted receiving member which is operated, when the stream has been stopped, to move a group of bottles from the stream and pass the same over a guide member having diverging channels therein which spac the botties properly for delivery to the case. The bottles are tilted in their movement over the guide member and are discharged therefrom in the Fig. 4

tilted position onto a receiver located at the inspection position. .Thereupon the pivotal receiving member returns to its inirtial position, the flow of the bottle stream is automatically resumed and another group of bottles is counted onto said receiving member.

The group .of bottles remain on the inspection receiver for a sufficient length of time to permit thorough inspection of the entire group. During this time a light, preferably positioned beneath the receiver, shines through the bottles to permit the contents thereof to be completely visible to the inspector. spection period, the inspection receiver is tilted to discharge the bottles therefrom in an upright position into a waiting case. Mechanism is provided for lowering the bottles gently toward the case until their bases are sufficiently close to the floor of the case to prevent'breakage in dropp g.

The cases are moved step by step to the filling position, one row of cells being positioned for filling at each step. Automatic means are provided for varying the length of the steps to compensate for the longer spacing between the last row of one case and the first row of the next, as compared to the spacing between rows of cells in the same case. When a case is completely filled it is automatically discharged from the machine onto a suitable conveyor which may take the same to a storage point or to amixing machine for further mixing, as may be desired.

Stationary frame In the preferred form of the invention shown inthe drawings, the stationary framework of the machine consists of four corner posts 26 secured together by upper longitudinal frame members 2|, upper lateral frame members 22, lower longitudinal frame members 23 and lower lateral frame members 24. A pair of vertical framemembers 25 are supported on the longitudinal members 23 and carry a cross member 26 at their upper ends. A cross member 21 is supported by two of the comer posts 28. A pair of longitudinal frame members 28 are supported on the cross members 26 and 21, respectively. A deck plate 29 rests upon the frame'members 2| and 22.

Driving mechanism Power for all of the operations of the machine is supplied from a motor 38 mounted on a sliding base 3| in turn carried by a fixed base 32. The

- base 32 is mounted on a plate 33 supported by the frame members 23 and 24. The motor drives a shaft 34 by means of a belt 35 trained about a pulley 36 secured to said shaft and about a pulley 31 secured to the shaft of the motor. The pulley 31 is one of a well known type whose effective diameter may be varied by moving the motor and itssliding base by means of a hand wheel 38. The speed at which the motor drives shaft 34 may thus be varied.

The shaft 34 is supported on bearings 39 and carries a brake drum 48 which may be acted upon by any suitable form of solenoid brake, not shown in Fig. 2 but shown diagrammatically at 4| in Fig. 16. The shaft 34 drives a shaft 42 through a worm and worm wheel contained in a housing 43. The shaft 42 is supported on bearings 44 and carries a sprocket 45 about which there is trained a chain 46. Said chain drives a sprocket 41 secured to a shaft 48. Said shaft is supported on bearings 49. Power for the several operations of the machine is supplied At the end of the infrom shaft 42 and 48 by suitable sprockets, gears and cams to be described hereinafter.

Conveyor for incoming bottles The shaft 48 carries a beveled gear 52 meshing with a beveledpinion 53 securedto a shaft 54. Said shaft is mounted on bearings 55 and has secured thereto a sprocket 56. An arm 51 (Fig. 5) extends from one of the bearings 55 and has freely mounted thereon a sprocket 58. An arm 59 is secured to one of the frame members 28 and has freely mounted thereon a sprocket 68. A pair of straps 6|, only one of which appears in Fig. 5, are secured to the frame members 2| and 28 and have fastened thereto bearings 62 in which there is journaled a shaft 63. A chain 64 is trained about the sprockets 56, 58 and 68 and about a suitable sproc ket on shaft 63, not shown. Said shaft also carries a sprocket 65 about which is trained a conveyor chain 66 of the platform type. The upper run of said chain is supported in a channel 61 which may be supported in any suitable manner and which may'extend from the bottling machine for supplying a continuous stream of filled bottles 68 to the machine. Said conveyor chain is constantly driven as long as the motor 38 is in operation.

Counting and stream control device The bottles 68 delivered on the conveyor chain 66 are guided by side rails 69 to a starwheel 10 pivotally mounted on the deck plate 29.. The friction between the chain 66 and the bases of the bottles 68 is sufilcient to push the bottles across a dead plate 1| past the starwheel 19 and onto an L-shaped receiving member 12. In the movement to the receiving member the bottles -are guided by the vertical face 13 of a guide member 14 and in passing the starwheel 18 they cause the same to rotate. Said starwheel has the same number of points as there are cells in one row in the cases to be filled, herein shown as six. The starwheel carries va pin 15 adapted to engage a latch 16 for stopping rotation of the star wheel and thus stopping the movement of the bottles on the conveyor 66. When said movement isstopped said conveyor may slip beneath the bases of the bottles thereon. The latch 16 is secured to a stem 11 journaled on bearings 18 carried by the deck plate 29. Said stem has secured thereto a collar 19 engaged by a torsion spring 89 which also engages one of the bearings 18 and tends to retain the latch 16 in the upraised position shown in Fig. 12, in which position said latch is in the path of movement of the pin 15.

The receiving member 12 normally rests upon the deck plate 29 as shown by broken lines in Fig. 12 but may be raised, as shown by solid lines in said figure, by mechanism to be hereinv after described. Said receiving member is raised after the flow of bottles has been stopped by engagement of pin 15 with latch 16 and is returned to its normal position when the bottles carried thereby have been delivered to the inspection station. In the return of the receiving member 12, a pin 8| carried on the back thereof strikes a trigger 82 which is pivotally mounted on the stem 11 and is provided with a projection 83 engaging a projection on the collar 19, as best seen in Fig. 4. The consequent movement of the trigger 82 moves collar 19 to rock the stem 11 and to freethe latch 16 from the pin 15., The starwheel 10 is then free to rotate and permits the resumption of movement of the stream of bottles. As the receiving member I2 resumes its normal position, the pin 9| slips past the trigger 82, as shown in Fig. 12, thus permitting the latch I6 to return to the path of travel of pin I to stop the same when six more bottles have been placed on the receiving member I2. In the upward movement of the receiving member I2, the pin 8| may strike the trigger 92 and move the same upwardly without affecting the position of the latch I6. By this means, the flow of the stream of bottles is controlled to place six bottles on the receiving member I2 each time the same is returned to its normal position and then to stop the flow of bottles until the receiving member has delivered the six bottles to the inspection station and has returned to its normal position. I

Mechanism for moving bottles to the inspection station The receiving member I2 has secured to the back thereof a rod 89 which is in turn secured to a pair of arms 85 and 96 which are attached to a shaft 91 journaled on the guide member I4. The arm 96 is shaped as best seen in Fig. 7 and operates in a suitable slotted opening 99 in the deck plate 29 and in the guide member 14. By this means the receiving member I2 is pivotally mounted for a. rocking movement about the axis of the shaft 91.

The shaft 49 carries a cam 99 which in turn carries a roller 99 engaging a follower 9| in the form of a lever freely mounted on a shaft 92 supported in bearings 99 on the frame members 25. A pitman 94 is connected to the end of the follower 9I and to the rod 99. By means of this construction, the receiving member I2 is rocked about the shaft 91 once in each revolution of the shaft 48.

The upper surface 95 of the guide member I9 is substantially concentric with the axis of the shaft 91, as best seen in Fig. 7, and is provided with ribs 96 forming guide channels 91 therebetween. Said ribs, as best seen in Fig. 4, are set at the proper angle with respect to each other to insure that the channels 91 diverge. The ribs 99 are also beveled as shown at 99 to facilitate entrance of the bottles to the channels 91.

When the bottles are received on the receiving member I2, they are in contact with each other, as shown in Fig. 4, since they are moved on to said member by pressure from the moving stream. As the receiving member I2 is lifted, the sides of the bottles engage the upper surface of the guide member, and the ribs 96 act to space the same apart to the proper spacing to correspond with the cells in the case to which they are to be delivered. The spacing of the cells in the cases is generally standard, irrespective of the actual diameter of the bottles to be placed therein, while the diameter of the bottles varies considerably with various makes of bottled drinks. With the arrangement of the ribs 96 illustrated herein, bottles having a diameter so small that the center of the first bottle 99 in the row actually coincides with the ad- J'acent rib 96 may be properly spaced, since the accumulated pressure of the ribs on the remaining bottles will force the bottle 99 to the proper side of the rib. Obviously, if larger bottles are used, the bottle 99 will be positioned in a more advantageous position to enter its appropriate guide channel. Thus, the same spacingmechsilient stop for the bottles.

anism may be used on bottles of varying diameter without the necessity of any manual adjustment.

Inspection station The movement of the receiving member I2 just described lifts six of the bottles from the stream, passes them over the surface of the guide member I4, spaces them-apart and at the same time tilts them through an angle of at least degrees and delivers the same to an inspection receiver I99 in the position shown by the bottle I9I in Fig. 7, in which position the axis of the bottle is inclined downwardly toward the neck end. The receiver I99 consists of a pair of parallel side plates I92 pivotally mounted on a pair of brackets I93 secured to the deck plate 29. A tubular member I99 is secured to the side plates I92 and has secured thereto a plurality of tubular members I95, forming between them six, spaces in which bottles may rest. A rod I96 is secured between the guide plates I92 and is covered by a tube I91, preferably of rubber or other resilient material to form a re- As the bottles slide from the guide member I4 to the receiver I99, the caps thereof strike 'the resilient stop III which cushions the shock.

Beneath the inspection receiver I99 there are positioned a plurality of electric lamps I99. A sheet I99 of translucent material, whichmay be ground glass or any of several well known resin plastics, is secured to the under surface of themembers I95. The lamps I99 are preferably lighted only during the time that bottles are in position on the inspection receiver and then pro-. ject their light through the translucent sheet I99 and through the bottles and their contents. The inspector is thus able to see the contents of the bottle by means of the light shining therethrough and the use of the translucent sheet I99 greatly reduces the strain on the inspectors eyes in this operation. The delivery of bottles to the inspection receiver is sufficiently rapid so that any foreign matter which may have been floating in the neck thereof while in the upright position, will still be moving toward the base end when the bottles reach the inspection position. Similarly, heavier material which may have been resting on the bottom of the bottle will be moving toward the neck end. The moving material is, of course, much more readily visible to the inspector than stationary material confined in the neck of the bottle or resting on the bottom. Furthermore, the placing of the bottle in a reclining position permits the inspector to look completely through the base of the bottle which in this position has no supporting plate in contact therewith, as is the case when bottles are inspected in an upright position. In the latter case, the dark background of a supporting plate often prevents the discovery of foreign matter which may have remained stuck to the interior of the bottle at the base. The inspection, therefore, is much more efficient than when bottles are inspected in an upright position.

When one or more of the bottles fails to pass inspection they may be removed by hand from the inspection receiver and replaced from a stock of bottles kept standing on deck plate 29 for the purpose. Ordinarily the removal and replacement may be done without stopping th machine, but a snap switch is provided for the operator by means of which the machine may be stopped if necessary.

Mechanism for moving bottles from the inspection station to the case I in shape and each is engaged by a follower in freely mounted on the shaft 32. Each of the followers H2 is connected by a link II3 to a block II4 secured to a vertical bar 5. Said bars are slidably mounted in bearings IIS on the frame members 28 and on suitable bearings beneath deck plate 28. The blocks II4 are connected by links III to the ends of the side plates I02 of the inspection receiver I00. By this means the rotation of the cams 88 and III alternately raises the links III and III to place the receiver I in the receiving position of Fig. 7 and permits the same to be lowered to move the same to the discharging position of Fig. 1. The movable parts may be made sufficiently heavy to insure that the latter motion is accomplished by gravity or suitable counterweights or springs may be provided if='-necessary.

Beneath the deck plate 28 there is provided a means for guiding the bottles into the case including a guide member II8 (Figs. 3, 6 and 10) which is secured at its ends to blocks H8 slidably mounted on the vertical bars II5. Said guide member is provided with a plurality of channels I suitably spaced to receive the bottles from the receiver I00. A rod I2I is fixed in suitable bearings on the blocks H8 and has mounted thereon opposite each of the channels I20 a finger unit shown in perspective in Fig. ll. Each of said units consists of a pair of fingers I22 connected by a cross bar I23 and freely mounted on the rod I2I. Between said fingers a collar I24 is secured to the rod and is engaged by a torsion spring I25 also engaging one of the fingers and urging the same toward the guide member H8. The tension of said springs is sufficlent so that when a bottle is slid from the receiver I00 into one of the channels I20 the corresponding fingers I22 engage the side of bottle with enough force to hold it closely against the face of the channel as shown in Fig. 10.

In the lower end of the guide member II8, a shaft I28 is journaled in slotted openings I21 at each end. Said shaft is normally retained in one end of said openings by a spring I28 operating upon a sliding bearin member I28, there being one of said springs and bearings at each end of the shaft. A roller I30 preferably faced with rubber is mounted on said shaft and is in position to intercept one edge of each of the bottles as they are dropped from the receiver I00.

The shaft I26 and roller I30 are constantly rotated by means of a sprocket I3I on the shaft 42 (Fig. l), a chain I32 engaging the same and engaging a sprocket carried by a stub shaft I38 mounted on one of the frame members 2|, and a chain I34 trained about another sprocket secured to the first on said stub shaft and about a sprock-- I00 in receiving position. The blocks III are thus elevated to place the guide member H8 and fingers I22 in the raised position shown in Fig. 6. When the receiver I00 is tilted to deliver the bottles, the lowering of blocks II4 permits the guide member III to be lowered into a position resting upon the case IIO with the fingers I22 extending into the cells of the case to be filled as shown in Fig. 10.

With the parts in this position the bottles are delivered from the receiver I00 and engage the rotating roller I30. The rotation of the roller draws the bottle downward at a sufiiciently slow rate of speed to lower it gently into the case and because of its resilient mounting is able to follow the contour of irregularly shaped bottles.

when the bottles have been placed in the case the guide member H8 and fingers I22 are again raised in the return of the receiver I00 to receiving position. In this movement said parts are elevated sufiiciently to permit the necks of the bottles to pass between fingers I22 and to clear the cross member I23.

Case handling mechanism The cases to be filled are preferably supplied in a continuous stream by a gravity conveyor I38 (Fig. 1) of the type commonly used in bottling plants. Said conveyer may have one end attached to the frame of the machine and is arranged to deliver the cases to the frame members 28 on which they may travel to the filling position represented by the guide I I8. A guide rail I31 is fixed to one of the members 28 (Fig. 3) and a flexible guide rail I38 is secured to the other of said members by straps I39 but has the end nearest the filling position pressed inwardly; by a spring I40 resting against an abutment I. The flexible guide rail insures that the cases will be accurately positioned against the fixed guide rail I31 irrespective of small variations in dimensions.

Each of the frame members 28 has secured thereto a bracket I42 in which there are slidably mounted a pair of horizontally arranged parallel rods I43 carrying fixed thereto a pair of cross bars I44. Said cross bars carry longi-.

tudinal bars I45 on which there are pivotally mounted a plurality of channel shaped pawls I48. Each of said pawls rests astride one of said bars and has a downwardly extending corner I" on each side extending into the cases on the frame members 28. The rods I43 and the members carried thereby and just described constitute a rigid frame which may be reciprocated on the brackets I 42 to bring the pawls successively into engagement with the edges of the cases for moving the same step by step toward the filling position.

The reciprocation of the frame just-described 'is accomplished by means of a construction shown in Fig. 1 and duplicatedv on the opposite side of the machine. Said construction includes a connecting rod I48 connected to acrank pin I48 on the cam 88. The opposite end of said connecting rod slides within a tubular member I50 which is pivotally connected to one end of one of the cross bars I44. A collar I5I carried by the rod I48 normally abuts against the end of the tubular member I50 and carries a pair of arms to which there are attached tension springs I82 which are also attached to similar arms on the tubular member I80. Said springs normally retain said members in contact but are adapted to yield to prevent damage if the movement of the cases meets with more than a predetermined resistance.

In the operation of the apparatus just described, the pawls I46 are moved backward and forward once in each rotation of the shaft 48. At each backward movement one of. the pawls on each side passes the inner edge of one of the cases and on the forward movement said pawls engage said edge and move the case toward the filling position. Because of the fact that the side walls of a case are invariably thicker than the partitions and two such side walls occur between the last row of cells in one case and the first row in the next, the movement required to bring the first row in a case to the filling position must be longer than the movement to bring succeeding rows in the case into position. In order to accomplish this variable movement there are provided as many pawls on each side of the machine as there are rows of cells in the cases to be filled. Said pawls are positioned with their operating corners I41 spaced apart a distance equal to the shorter steps, while the amplitude of the reciprocating movement is sufficient for the longer steps. The pawls are placed in such position with relation to the filling position that when the rearmost pawl I46d engages the inner edge of the side wall of a new case, the limit of its forward movement brings the first row of cells in another case to the filling position. In the'next movement pawl I460 engages the side wall of the new case and moves the second row of cells of the case I I into filling position as illustrated in Fig. 6. In the third and fourth movements pawls I46b and 6a successively engage the side wall and move the third and fourth rows of case IIO into filling position. 0n the fifth movement however, the side wall of a new case has reached the proper position to be engaged by pawl 611. Because of the thickness of the abutting side walls of the two cases at this point the engagement takes place at a point much farther back in the movement of the pawls and the forward motion of the cases is accordingly that much greater.

Case discharging mechanism At the left end of the machine, referring to Figs. 1 and 3, there is provided a discharge device consisting of a pair of angle members I60 secured together by cross members I6I and I62 and carrying a number of rollers I63. The members I60 are pivotally mounted at one end on a rod I64 extending between one of the corner posts 20 and one of the frame members 25. The discharge device is further supported on a latch I65 carried by a latch bar I66 which is pivotally mounted at I61 on a bracket secured to one of the frame members 24. Said latch bar is normally urged in the clockwise direction (Fig. 1) about its pivot by a counterweight I68 carried on a rod I69 secured thereto. A suitable spring could be used equally well.

The latch bar I66 has a projection I10 on the upper end thereof and lying in the path of a lever I1I which is pivoted to one of the members I 60 and extends over one of the rollers I63. Said lever carries a roller I12 at its outer end. A vertical rod I13 is pivotally secured to the underside of the cross member I62 and extends downwardly through a suitable opening in the frame member 23. A compression spring I14 surrounds said rod and abuts against the member 23 and against a collar I 15 secured to the rod.

In the operation of this part of the apparatus a case I16 which has been completely filled is pushed by the next oncoming case I I0 onto the rollers I63. The case I16 strikes the roller I12 and thus moves the lever "I to strike the projection I10 and tilt the latch bar I66 sufliciently far to the left (Figs. 1 and 3) to move the latch I from beneath the angle member I60. The weight of the case I16 and the filled bottles therein is sufficient to cause the discharge device to move downwardly about its pivot rod I64 and against the action of the spring I14. In this movement the filled case moving on the rollers I63 is discharged from the machine onto any suitable receiver or onto a conveyor (not shown) which may carry it to any desired point in the bottling plant.

As soon as the case leaves the rollers I63 the force of spring I14 is sufficient to lift the discharge device above the latch I65, said latch is brought back into place beneath the member I60 by the counterweight I68 and the device is ready to receive another case.

Control apparatus Since the movements of the receiving member 12, the inspection receiver I00, the guide member H8 and the case moving mechanism are all accomplished by a single rotation of shaft 48, it is obvious that they may be accurately timed with respect to each other without manual control of any kind. However, certain controls are added for the sake of safety and to prevent operation of the machine under abnormal conditions.

One such abnormal condition occurs when the supply of bottles on conveyor 66 is inadequate. In order to push the bottles over the dead plate H and onto the receiving member 12, there must be a stream of bottles on the conveyor sufficiently long to insure that the accumulated friction of chain 66 on their bases will overcome the friction of plates H and member 12 on the bases of the bottles thereon. To prevent operation of the machine under these conditions, there is provided an electric switch I (Fig. 13) located at a proper point on the conveyor 66 and having an operating arm I8I engaged by the bottles 68. As shown diagrammatically in Fig. 16, said switch is biased toward open position and is closed by engagement of the arm I 8| by the bottles. Said switch may thus be arranged to stop the operation of motor 30 when the supply of bottles at the switch position fails, as for example when the bottling machine is shut down.

Another abnormality would occur if there is undue resistance to the movement of the cases to the filling position. In order to stop the machine in such an event, there is provided an electric switch shown in Fig. 14. A U-shaped spring I82 is mounted on the rod I48 between the tubular member I50 and the collar I5I. Said spring carries contact points I83 suitably insulated therefrom and adapted to engage each other as long as collar I5I and the tubular member I50 are in their normal positions. It, however, the resistance to movement of the cases is sufficient to stretch the springs I 52, the rod I48 and collar I5I move relatively of the tubular member I50 to the position shown in Fig. 14. In

that position the resilience of spring I82 is sumcient to separate the contact members I 83. Said contact members may be arranged in a control circuit for motor 30 which will stop the motor when the contact is broken.

An additional safety feature is provided in the form of a push button I84 which may be placed in any convenient position to be manually operated by the inspector when it is desired to stop the machine.

For control of the lamps I88, there is provided a switch I85 of the push button type (Figs. 2 and 15) Said switch may be operated by a cam I88 on the shaft 48 in timed relation with the operation of the remainder of the machine so that the lamps I88 will be lighted only when bottles are in place at the inspection position.

One form of electrical wiring for the control of the machine is illustrated in Fig. 16. Power may besupplied on a pair of mains I8'I to a master switch I88 from any suitable source of current. From the master switch I88 power for the lamps I88 is supplied by a pair of conductors I88, in one of which is inserted the switch I85. Power for the motor 88 is also supplied on conductors I88 to the motor 38 and the solenoid brake 4| by way of a switch I88 operated by a motor control relay I8I. A pair of conductors I82 lead from the master switch I88 to the primary winding of a transformer I88. The secondary winding of said transformer supplies power at a suitable low voltage on conductors I88 for the operation of the relay I8I. The switches I88, I88 and I83 are connected in series in one of the conductors I8I. When the machine is at rest a spring I85 normally retains the solenoid brake II in engagement with the brake drum 48 to prevent undesired movement of the parts. when it is desired to start the machine, the switch I88 is closed. thus energizing the circuit for the relay I8I and closing switch I88. The operation of switch I88 supplies power to the solenoid brake 4| which acts in opposition to the spring I85 to release the brake in a well known manner. At the same time, the motor 38 is started and the operation of the machine continues automatically unless one of the switches I83, I88 or I88 is opened temporarily or until the master switch I88 is opened. When either of these events occur, the motor is stopped, the solenoid brake II is deenergized and the brake is immediately applied by action of the spring I88. I

The foregoing specification describes the invention in one of its preferred forms. The details thereof may, of course, be varied within wide limits without departing from the scope of the invention'as defined by the appended claims.

' The invention claimed is:

1. In a casing machine for bottled goods I adapted to receive a continuous stream of bottles and to deposit the same in a partitioned case, a

pivotally mounted member adapted to engage the bases of a plurality of bottles from said a stream, a guide member having its guiding surface generally concentric with the pivotal axis of said first mentioned member and adapted to engage the sides of said bottles, and means for moving said pivotally mounted member about said axis to pass said bottles over said guide aaaaoss member, said guide member having diverging channels formed in the surface thereof for spacing said bottles properly for deposition in said case.

2. In a casing machine for bottled goods, bottle guiding means positioned above a case to be row of bottles thereto, and means for rotating said roller means to lower the bottles gently toward said case.

4. In a casing machine for bottled goods adapted to receive a continuous stream of bottles andto deposit the same in a case, bottle guiding means positioned above a case to be filled and adapted to receive a row of bottles, resilient roller means adapted to engage bottles therein, means for moving a row of bottles from said stream to said guiding means, and means for rotating said roller means to lower the bottles gently toward said case.

5. In a casing machine for bottled goods adapted to receive a continuous stream of bottles and to deposit the same in a partitioned case, bottle guiding means positioned above a case to be filled and adapted to receive a row of bottles; resilient roller means adapted to engage bottles therein, bottle moving and spacing means adapted to move a row of bottles from said stream to said guiding means and to space the same apart for deposition in said case, and means for rotating said roller means to lower the bottles gently toward said case.

6. In a casing machine adapted to place articles in a plurality of rows in a case, means located at a receiving station for placing a row of articles in a case, a reciprocating member, and

- a plurality of pawls carried thereby and adapted to engage said case successively in the movement of said reciprocating member in one direction to move said case step by step toward said receiving station.

'7. In a casing machine adapted to place articles in a plurality of rows in a case, means supporting a stream of cases for movement toward a filling position, means at said filling position for depositing a row of articles in a case, a reciprocating member, and a plurality of pawls carried thereby and adapted to engage one of said cases successively in the movement of said reciprocating member in one direction to move said stream step by step toward said filling position.

CURTIS W. GIBBS. 

